Considerations about Intellectual Property Rights,
Innovation and Economic Growth in the Digital Economy
Carmen Nadia CIOCOIU1
ABSTRACT
Three technological trends—the omnipresence of information in digital form, the
generalised use of computer networks, and the rapid proliferation of the World Wide
Web—have profound implications for the way intellectual property (IP) is created,
distributed, and accessed by every sector of society. In the last ten years much discussion of
these issues has occurred in the literature and political and legislative domain.
The information infrastructure offers an extraordinary ease of access to a vast array of
information and peril for information to be reproduced inappropriately and for information
access to be controlled in new and problematic ways. IPR regimes affect the diffusion of
scientific knowledge, the innovation process and, ultimately, economic performance.
Information technology raised some problems regarding the protection of intellectual
property and drived to the discovery of a large number of solutions during past years. This
paper’s purpose is to reveal what is the situation regarding IPR protection, economic
growth and innovation in Romania, in the context of digital economy.
KEYWORDS: intellectual property rights (IPR), innovation, economic growth, digital
economy, Romania
JEL CLASSIFICATION: O34
INTRODUCTION
During the last decade, the changes within the technological domain, law and business
practices lead to many controversies regarding the protection of IPR. In the center of all
these changes there is the progress from the analogical to the digital information.
The growth of publishing content types in digital form lead to easy and cheap copying and
distributing of information with combined results regarding content distribution. On one
hand, the content can be distributed with a much less expensive cost per unit. On the other
hand, content distribution outside the channels that comply with copyright policies can
diminish the creator’s and distributor’s revenue and thus diminishing their interest in
sharing the content.
The digital information can be processed in infinite ways, can be copied without being
damaged and at almost no cost, and can be easily shared, for free, for anyone and everyone
who is connected, due to the rapid development of ICT and Internet. The digitalization
allow to the whole world the access to a larger amount of information than the ones offered
by any great library from the history of mankind – and allow anyone to be a creator and an
1
The Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, Romania, email: [email protected]
Economia. Seria Management
Volume 14, Issue 2, 2011
editor. But the blessings of digitalization can be also seen as curses by the intellectual
property rights owners (CED, 2004). In this context, the purpose of policy makers is to
ensure that inventors and authors have enough incentive to bring their innovations to
market. In the Information Age, this objective led to certain processes for identifying,
certifying, and protecting intellectual property. The main benefit required for strong IPR
protection is that by allowing innovators to appropriate a share of the benefits of their
creative activities, R&D is encouraged, which leads to innovation and higher long-run
growth. Starting from this assertion, the paper’s objective is to approach the following
issues:
 Which are the results of the research regarding IPR protection impact over the
economic growth and innovation?
 Which is the current status in the research of IPR protection within the digital
economy?
 Is there a positive correlation between IPR protection, on one hand, and
economic growth and innovation, on the other hand, in the case of Romania?
The research is based on the secondary data usage, observation and interpretation.
Information and data gathering was conducted from the specialty literature domain,
governmental documents and national and international statistics.
1. LITERATURE REVIEW
A classical economical study regarding the compromise between innovation and
intellectual property protection is the one of Nordhaus (1969), which examined the
optimum length in time for a patent. The patents with a longer lifetime offer to the
producers more incentives but, in the same time, lead to long periods of engrossment. Using
a simulation model, Nordhaus completed a cost-benefit analysis of the compromise
between these two effects and concluded that a patent lifetime of 20 years is reasonable
enough.
Later, the economists examined other dimensions of the patent dimensions, such as patents
applicability domain, the novelty state and so on.
As patents are applied to the inventions, the copyrights apply to the artistic and literary
expressions (in text, audio or video formats) and represent the dominant form of intellectual
property protection for electronic content. Many studies analysed the patent’s economic
impact, but much less studies were made regarding the copyrights, though in the present
days, in the context of digital economy development, there is a much more intense activity
in this domain from the legal and political points of view. Separately, this discrepancy
reflects the differences regarding data availability; the data regarding the patents are
available electronically in centralized databases, but the copyrights are granted
automatically and do not need the official registering by the owner, in all the cases.
In the modern literature regarding the economic growth, the protection of IPR is regarded
as the main determinative factor of the long term economic growth.
A major argument in favor of stronger IPR is that it stimulates economic growth by
protecting innovators from imitation, thereby encouraging innovation. In fact, many
countries have strengthened their protection of IPR by reforming their patent systems.
However, although this view is widely accepted, many studies, both theoretical and
empirical, indicates that, in a closed economy, the relationship between IPR protection and
311
Carmen Nadia CIOCOIU
economic growth is actually not so clear (Gould & Gruben, 1996; Falvey, Foster &
Greenaway, 2006).
These technological progress come from the economic agents activities developed in order
to benefit from new products development, or from the improvement of the existing ones
(Grossman & Helpman, 1991). The economic agents are investing in R&D in order to take
advantage of the inventions that will come from this. But, besides creating new products,
the innovation amplifies the existing society knowledge stock, which is the basis of the next
innovations. This process is being assisted according to the information, protected by IPR,
available to other potential inventors, as well as patent requests. The global growth rate
depends by the innovation rate and the existing knowledge, and IPR protection may
enhance the economic growth by encouraging both of them.
Regarding the exploration of these issues in a multi-jurisdiction context, the most relevant
analyses are those which examine a world compounded by two types of countries: the
developed one, innovating ―North‖ and the one which is currently developing, imitating
―South‖ (Falvey, Foster & Greenaway, 2002). The main concerns were represented by the
extent in which the high protection of IPR from North to South will contribute to the
enhancement of the (global) growth rate, of the technological transfer rate from North to
South and of the well-being level from both locations.
The most important conclusion that comes from the revision of the most important studies
is that the implications of a higher IPR protection in South, either on the innovation
incentives from the North, either on the technological transfer rate from North to South, are
not clearly identified. This issue very much depends by the available transfer channels and
by the southern ability to benefit from their technology.
At the level of each country, the impact of IPR protection over the overall development is
likely to depend on the country’s characteristics, especially on its technical assets. A small
part of literature deals directly with the hypothesis that a stronger IPR protection generates
a higher economic growth. This literature deals, generally, with the identification of the
time and place in which a positive effect may be observed.
In the economic literature are used frequently two indexes for IPR protection and both are
based on the perceived power regarding patents in a country: Rapp & Rozek Index [RRI]
(1990) and Ginarte & Park Index [GPI] (1997).
[RRI] is based on the adherence of each country’s patent laws in 1984 to the minimum
standards proposed by the Chamber of Commerce of United States (1987). These standards
include guidelines for patent examination procedures, term of protection, coverage of
inventions, compulsory licensing, transferability of patent rights and effective enforcement
against infringement. The index is on a six-point scale with higher numbers indicating
stronger IPR protection (Rapp & Rozek, 1990). The RRI approach was extended by
Ginarte and Park (1997).
[GPI] is also on a six-point scale and is constructed using similar criteria to the RRI. Their
scoring method differs however, with five categories of the national patent law considered:
the extent of coverage, membership of international patent agreements, provisions for loss
of protection, enforcement mechanisms and duration of protection.
Numerous subsequent studies were based on the use of the two indices mentioned.
Although issues remain regarding the direction of causality, the results of the various
studies lead to reasonably consistent conclusions.
312
Economia. Seria Management
Volume 14, Issue 2, 2011
Gould and Gruben (1996) examine the relationship between IPR protection and growth in
open versus closed economies and conclude that IPR protection has a slightly larger effect
on growth in more open economies.
Thompson and Rushing (1999) use for analysis a system of three equations estimated using
Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) techniques. The three dependent variables are: the
growth rate of real GDP per capita, the ratio of total factor productivity (TFP) in 1971 to
that in 1990 and the RRI. The IPR index is found to have a positive and significant impact
on TFP for the richest countries and the increase of TFP has a positive and significant
impact on GDP growth.
Falvey, Foster and Greenaway (2006) investigate the impact of IPR protection on economic
growth using threshold regression analysis in a panel data of 80 countries. They show that
whilst the impact of IPR protection on growth depends upon the level of development, IPR
protection is positively and significantly related to growth for low- and high-income
countries, but not for middle-income countries. This suggests that, while IPR protection
encourages innovation in high-income countries, and technology flows to low income
countries, middle-income countries may have compensating losses from reduced scope for
imitation.
In summary, the results of diverse studies provide evidence that strengthening an IPR
regime can be growth-enhancing, depending on country characteristics. IPR protection
seems to lead to higher growth in more open economies and in the richest and poorest
countries, but has no significant effect on growth in middle-income countries, all other
things being equal.
From the innovation perspective, the main benefit claimed for strong IPR protection is that
by allowing innovators to appropriate a share of the benefits of their creative activities,
R&D is encouraged which leads to innovation and higher long-run growth.
At the aggregate level, Kanwar & Evenson (2003) find that stronger IPR protection has a
positive and significant impact on the share of R&D investment in GDP.
Little evidence on the importance of IPR protection for innovation in developing countries
is available. Primo Braga et al. (2000) note that the criteria of novelty in patent grants is
unlikely to be apt for promoting the small, incremental and adaptive innovations that are
typical in developing countries.
There are a small number of econometric studies using data on domestic patent applications
to examine the role of IPRs in promoting innovation. A study by Chen & Puttitanun (2005)
however shows that stronger IPR protection has a positive impact upon innovation in
developing countries.
In a related paper, Schneider (2005) examines the importance of IPR protection, high-tech
imports and FDI on innovation and on per capita GDP growth. The author finds that while
IPRs have a positive impact on innovation in developed countries, the impact in developing
countries is negative, and often significant.
While both R&D expenditure and patent applications have advantages and disadvantages as
measures of innovative activity, patent application data has the advantages of being
relatively reliable, available over a relatively long time period and for a relatively large
number of developing countries.
In Romania, Ştrenc (2009) considers that intellectual property is both a representative and
an engine for the technological innovation. He argues that intellectual property is a
313
Carmen Nadia CIOCOIU
representative of the technological innovation due to the fact that the level and strength of
the technological innovation are directly indicated and/or represented by the level and
strength of the results intellectual property protection, which emerged from the innovational
process.
The best indicator for the technological development level of a country/technological
branch/company are given by the number of patents, brands, drawings and models (design),
software etc. that are being protected, and the fact that the statistics from industrial,
economical, commercial domains are almost mirrored by the statistics from the intellectual
property domain represent the best evidence that IP is an exponent of the technological
innovation.
According to the author, the second valence of the IP, that of technological
innovation engine, means that the level of technological innovation is being stimulated by a
proper protection of innovation results. Once the results are protected, between the entity
that protected and the rest of the competitors appeared a „protecting wall‖ which, finally, at
least for a certain period of time, offers the advantage of exploiting exclusively the
protected objects. The expression of the two IP valences starts with the local level of a
Small and Medium Enterprise, of a research institute or company, continuing to the
intermediate level of an industrial or technological branch and reaching the maximum level,
that of the country.
2. IPR IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY
One of the effects of digitalization is represented by the trend to replace physical objects
(such as CD’s, magazines or books) with non-physical object – intangible aggregates of bits
which imitate the information contained on/in physical objects.
Another change is that generated by the passing from physical objects to licensing
intangible goods. We are used to buy discs, books, CD’s, even software which serve as
tangible proofs of human creativity. But in the intangible world we are told ever often that
we are not buying creation works, but we are licensed of segments of intellectual property
rights associated with a work. Unlike the property rights of the objects, the licenses,
generally, come with a limited set of competencies strictly determined by the intellectual
property rights owner.
We are passing from an analogical world which allows reselling objects, once this objects
were distributed (the so called rights of ―first selling‖), to a digital world that has the
potential, by using technology, to establish certain clear limits regarding what can be done
with a content made available for the public. While the ground rule in the analogical world
was ―whatever is not prohibited, is allowed‖ (as an aspect connected to the reality, even if
not also legal), the architecture proposed for the technical control in the digital world allow
applying a very different ground rule: ―whatever is not allowed by the intellectual property
rights owner, is forbidden‖. The digitalization offers the possibility, at least on short time,
to have the most thorough information control that can be ever imagined.
This created what National Academy of Science from the United Stated named ―digital
dilemma‖ (Committee on Intellectual Property Rights in the Emerging Information
Infrastructure, 2000). From this perspective, the digital technology has the potential to
knock down the fine equilibrium of public goods and private interests which appeared due
to the evolution of the intellectual property rights from the past 200 years. Shortly, the
technology tends to dominate in front of the law.
314
Economia. Seria Management
Volume 14, Issue 2, 2011
In this new world, both the nightmare of the intellectual property rights owners, as well as
the consumers ones are met: the intellectual property rights owners see the new
technologies, as well as the Internet, as destructive factors of their control and state that the
piracy is ruining them; the consumers see the proposals of protecting property rights as an
information blockage and worry about a world in which all the information should be payper-view.
The digitalization and the Internet threaten to withhold the control rights of the creators and
distributors regarding the way and the shape in which the work become available to the
public and the rewards that come together with this control.
In the digital economy, protecting the intellectual property rights represents a ―digital
right‖, together with others such as: network access, free speech, cibernetic security etc.
The term ―digital rights‖ is mentioned not as a right from the legal point of view, but as to
describe the legal allowances of the individuals to do something which involves using a
computer, an electronic device or a communication network. The term is linked especially
by the protection and realisation of the current rights, such as the right to private life or to
free speech (and information), in the context of the new digital technologies, especially the
Internet.
Within time, our ability to obtain and share knowledge knows a rapid growth, due to the
technical advances of the XXI century. Today it is reasonable enough to assume that an
easier access to the worldwide knowledge would lead to a fair world, a world where
economic disparities are reduced. The number of persons which can access the various
information and knowledge is increased exponentially due to Internet usage, the availability
of the individuals to have blogs and online diaries and or other non-traditional information
sources. Together with the new technologies which allow easier information copying into
various formats, these new channels of knowledge dissemination allow free usage of the
knowledge as a public asset and are distribution models characteristic to the XX century,
dominated by the great media conglomerates, scientific publication based on profit and
business high education institutes.
There is a certain need of re-evaluating the knowledge system inherited form the industrial
age and to adapt it at the current needs of the digital economy. The organizational
behaviour theory states a ―knowledge paradox‖, which seems useful in the digital economy
approach, based on knowledge (Andjelkovich, 2006). The paradox is present as long as the
knowledge creation and exchange represent one of the biggest growth sources in a new
economy. Also, knowledge is seldom a well-guarded resource and carefully transactioned,
thus generating obstacles for innovation and economic growth.
Digital technologies and global information networks have made a real progress in
information accumulation and exchange. The old principles of intellectual property
protection established in a completely different technological context do not work any
longer in an emerging environment, and, therefore, new conceptual arrangements are
required for international regulation of intellectual activities on the Internet.
The Committee on Intellectual Property Rights in the Emerging Information Infrastructure
(2000) presents the multiple facets of digitized intellectual property and proposes research
and policy recommendations as well as principles for policymaking. The study defines
terms, identifies key issues, and explores alternatives. It follows the complex threads of
law, business, incentives to creators, the American tradition of access to information, the
international context, and the nature of human behavior. Technology is explored for its
ability to transfer content and its potential to protect intellectual property rights.
315
Carmen Nadia CIOCOIU
The problem of digital intellectual property is treated in some studies of the the Committee
for Economic Development (CED). The study CED (2001) focuses on the interaction
between public policies and e-commerce and in chapter 4 treates the issue of innovation
and intellectual property in the digital economy. Another study (CED, 2004) focuses on the
economic impact of copyright protection in the digital age and the potential economic
effects of proposals for change. The report explores the history of copyright law, revealing
that legal protection of the rights of creators has always been explicitly balanced against
protection of ongoing innovation.
In the last eight years Business Software Alliance (BSA) published some studies about
piracy software in entire world. The BSA (2011) study reveal that:
 Half of the 116 geographies studied in 2010 had piracy rates of 62 percent or
higher, and twothirds saw at least one software program pirated for every one that was
installed legally.
 The piracy rate dropped in 51 of the 116 geographies studied in 2010 and went
up in only 15. But, crucially, regional average rates rose by 1 point in both Asia-Pacific and
Latin America — two economic hotbeds of the developing world.
 The global piracy rate for PC software dropped by a single percentage point in
2010 to 42 percent — 3.6 points higher than the previous fi ve-year average. (BSA, 2011,
p. 2)
The digital economy across the European Union is being affected by so-called
digital piracy. The European Commission has issued detailed proposals to help stamp out
this illegal trade, In EU, a new association – Communia, was launched with the mission to
promote the digital public domain. The launch of Communia results from the work of an
EU-funded project started in 2007 that brought together about 50 partners from research,
library and advocacy institutions. The intention of the group is to focus on research and
advocacy work, it also calls for harmonisation of exceptions and limitations to copyright, a
pan-European system allowing full access to orphan works (for which the copyright owner
cannot be found), facilitation of access to copyrighted works for education and research
purposes, and strengthening of publicly funded and cultural organisations by ensuring
information is freely available for all. The partners, many of which are also active as
Creative Commons partners, decided after the end of the EU public funding that the work
was indispensable.
3. INNOVATION, ECONOMIC GROWTH AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
RIGHTS IN ROMANIA
Institutional and legislative framework In Romania, ensuring the protection of intellectual
property is the duty of two specialized institutions: the State Office for Inventions and
Trademarks - in the field of industrial property, and the Romanian Copyright Office – in the
field of copyright and related rights.
To highlight the evolution of IPR, innovation and economic growth in Romania a few
relevant data are presented below.
A complex research at regional level regarding innovation and intellectual property was
conducted in Romania for the Inobarometru report (RO INNO, 2008). This represents a
report regarding innovation at the level of the development regions, offered by National
Authority for Scientific Research and is considered an access point towards regional
innovation, offering benchmark points and objective trends which emphasise regional
economies inventiveness.
316
Economia. Seria Management
Volume 14, Issue 2, 2011
In order to obtain a wide image of innovation at regional level, it was elaborated an
evaluation model based on 5 innovational factors, respectively: innovation leading
potential, knowledge creation potential, innovation and system integration capacity,
innovation activities and intellectual property performance.
According to the mentioned report, from the intellectual property innovational point of
view, on the first place is situated Bucharest-Ilfov Region, followed by Center Region and
on the last place – South Muntenia Region.
Analysing the general comparative situation and by innovational factors, it can be seen that
although the Bucharest-Ilfov region is on the first place from the point of view of all the
five factors, the Center region can be found on the sixth position for all the categories,
excepting the intellectual property factor where it can be found on the second place.
The following graph illustrates the comparison between Center Region and Bucharest-Ilfov
Region, the differences between the first two regions being quite significant.
The situation of innovational sub factors, presented in figure 1 (a and b), shows the close
values registered by the two regions regarding patents and industrial models and drawings
(scores of ~50%), but Bucharest-Ilfov is clearly distinguished regarding the categories
copyright, brands, networks and others (98.7 versus 45.3).
Figure 1a Innovational sub factors situation in the Centre Region
Source: RO INNO (2008).
317
Carmen Nadia CIOCOIU
Figure 1b Sub factors situation in the Bucharest-Ilfov Region
Note: CDT- the potential of creating knowledge
Source: RO INNO (2008)
A complex method used for measuring innovation capacity at national level is represented
by the annual ranking realized at EU level based on European Innovation Scoreboard
(EIS). Starting 2008 year, the analysis of the innovation performance rank starts from
considering multiple indexes, grouped in 7 categories. At their turn, these are grouped into
three major innovation dimensions (UNU-MERIT, 2011, p. 7): „Enablers‖, „Firm
activities‖ and ―Outputs‖.
Regarding the intellectual property, this category contains some indicators reported to the
million of inhabitants, respectively: number of patents submitted according with CTP
(Cooperation Treaty regarding patents), number of patents for social issues, number of
registered trademarks and number of drawings.
According to the European Innovation Scoreboard, Romania is considered among the
countries which are in the stage of catching-up. Thus, in 2009, the Summary Innovation
Index (SII) has the value of 0.296, Romania being situated quite far from the EU27
average, of 0.481, which puts our country on one of the last position (UNU-MERIT, 2010).
In 2010, Romania was ranked as one of the modest EU innovator, with a performance
situated under the average. Relative strong points are in Finance and support and in
Outputs. Relative weak points are in Open, excellence and attractive research systems,
Linkages and entrepreneurship, Intellectual assets and Innovators. High growth is observed
for Public R&D expenditure, Community trademarks and Community designs. A strong
decline is observed for Non-EU doctorate students. Growth performance in Finance and
support and Intellectual assets is above average. In the other dimensions it is below average
(UNU-MERIT, 2011).
In order to analyse the situation of IPRs in figure 2 is presented a summary
regarding the number of patents submitted and granted in Romania.
318
Economia. Seria Management
Volume 14, Issue 2, 2011
Figure 2. The patent situation in Romania (1990-2008)
Source: INS (2009)
In the early phase of the global financial crisis, patent applications worldwide grew by
2.6% in 2008, albeit a slower rate than in 2009 (WIPO, 2010).There is considerable
variation across countries regarding the impact of the economic downturn on patent
application activity. The growth rate of applications worldwide slowed in 2008, largely due
to zero growth in applications filed in the US and a drop in applications in Japan (-1.3%),
the Republic of Korea (-1.1%) and the United Kingdom (-6.5%) (WIPO, 2010).
Patent applications in middle-income and low-income economies seemed to be less affected
by the early phase of the global economic downturn. In Romania the patent applications
recorded a double-digit growth compared with the previous years.
Regarding other industrial property rights in Romania, a significant growth for the period
2003-2008 was registered by the trademarks (107894 in the six years).
The diminishing of patents number happened on the background of R&D expenses growth
after 2000 year, both in the public sector, as well as in the private one, from internal or
external sources.
The explanation can be found in the results of the studies which demonstrated that a
significant positive relation between protecting intellectual property rights and growth in
the countries with a low income is not coming from encouraging the research and internal
and innovational development.
Also, there are some opinions (cited in Idris, 2003) which state that the patents (in
opposition with other forms of IP, such as brands and geographical indications) are not
important for the countries in which the technological development state is relatively
319
Carmen Nadia CIOCOIU
diminished, and some critics say that this could harm such countries due to the power over
the markets and prices, that patents grant to their owner.
The differences between economies in respect of the patent granting activity reflect their
dimension and development level. In order to cross section compare is interesting to
express the patenting activity versus GDP and national R&D expenses.
After 1990, Romania's GDP recorded considerable growth until the debut of economic
crisis in 2008 (see figure 3).
Figure 3. The evolution of GDP in Romania (2002-2010)
Note: PPS – purchasing power standard
Source: INS, Eurostat
Negative correlation is evident, in the respect that although the GDP grew constantly, its
growth is influenced by various other factors.
WIPO Statistics Database (WIPO, 2010) presents data regarding patent requests submitted
by residents reported to GDP and, respectively, to the R&D expenses. These indicators can
be considered measures of intensity of patent activity. Koreea, Japan and China are the best
ranked in 2008, for both indicators. United States held in 2008 the second place as number
of residents’ submission, but, due to its great economy, this occupies only the 5th position
for adjusted GDP and 12th position for R&D indicator. Romania is situated on the 27th
position from the patent submission vs. GDP per capita and on the 8 th position for patent
submissions vs. R&D expenditure (WIPO, 2010). The good rank registered in the case of
the second indicator is generated by the small amount of R&D expenses, compared with the
rest of the countries.
The International Property Rights Index (IPRI) is an international comparative study that
measures the significance of both physical and intellectual property rights and their
protection for economic well-being. In order to incorporate and understand the important
aspects related to property rights protection, the Index focuses on three areas: Legal and
Political Environment (LP), Physical Property Rights (PPR), and Intellectual Property
Rights (IPR). The overall grading scale of the IPRI ranges from 0 to 10, with
320
Economia. Seria Management
Volume 14, Issue 2, 2011
10 representing the strongest level of property rights protection and 0 reflecting the nonexistence of secure property rights in a country. Similarly, each component and variable is
placed on the same 0 to 10 scale.
According to the 2011 Report, Romania’s total IPRI score continues to increase. Despite
IPR’s significant increase in 2010 to 5.8, the IPR score decreased to 5.4 in 2011. Patent
Protection remained relatively the same while the other two categories which compose IPR
(Protection of Intellectual Property Rights and Copyright Piracy) decreased in score
(Jackson, 2011).
BSA (2011) study also shows that software piracy rate in Romania are down from
69% in 2006 to 64% in 2010, following the development of legal framework for IPR
protection.
CONCLUSIONS
The objective of this study was to explore evolution of intellectual property rights
protection, economic growth and innovation in Romania, in the context of digital economy.
The question of how IPR affect the processes of economic growth and innovation is
complex and based on multiple variables. The effectiveness of IPR in this regard depends
considerably on particular circumstances in each country. The relation between the power
of intellectual protection rights of a country and the growth rate is still unclear, reflecting
the variety of channels by which technology can be achieved and their importance at
different levels of development. The studies indicate that, although the impact of
intellectual property rights protection over the economic growth depends of the
development level, this is positive and significantly linked by the economic growth in the
case of small and high income countries, but not in the case of those with medium income.
Intellectual rights protection encourages innovation in the countries with high income, and
the technological exchanges in the countries with small incomes. Economic growth in the
countries with medium incomes is not significantly affected by intellectual property rights
protection.
In Romania, although the GDP (both in absolute value and per capita) grew constantly
during the period 2000-2008, the number of patents issued and published and the patent
requests decreased significantly. Regarding the national innovation capacity, the annual
ranking realized at EU level based on European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) ranks
Romania, in 2010, as one of the modest EU innovators, with a performance under average.
Studying the impact of IPR protection over economic growth and innovation is important in
order to be able to change the contextual regulations within the changes induced by digital
economy. In order to solve all these issues, it must be developed an adequate combination
between governmental regulations, private initiatives and industrial sector, sustaining both
consumer’s needs and business environment.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was co financed from the European Social Fund through Sectoral Operational
Programme
Human
Resources
Development
2007-2013,
project
number
POSDRU/89/1.5/S/56287 „Postdoctoral research programs at the forefront of excellence
in Information Society technologies and developing products and innovative processes‖,
partner Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies – Research Center for ―Analysis and
Regional Policies‖.
321
Carmen Nadia CIOCOIU
REFERENCES
Andjelkovic, M. (2006). Intellectual Property Rights and Access to Knowledge Models:
Managing Innovation, Public Goods and Private Interest. BSIS Journal of
International Studies, 3, 1-15. Retrieved from http://www.kent.ac.uk/brussels/journal/
documents/2006/Andjelkovic%20%20Intellectual%20Property%20Rights%20and%
20Access%20to%20Knowledge%20Models.pdf
BSA. (2011). Eighth Annual BSA Global Software Piracy Study. Washington D.C.:
Business Software A Worldwide Headquarters
CED. (2001).The digital economy: promoting competition, innovation, and opportunity: a
statement on national policy. Washington, D.C.: Committee for Economic
Development, Research and Policy Committee
CED. (2004). Promoting innovation in the on-line world: the problem of digital intellectual
property. Washington D.C.: Committee for Economic Development, Digital
Connections Council
Chen, Y. & Puttitanun, T. (2005). Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation in
Developing Countries. Journal of Development Economics, 78, 474-493
Committee on Intellectual Property Rights in the Emerging Information Infrastructure.
(2000). The Digital Dilemma: Intellectual Property in the Information Age,
Washington D.C.: National Academy Press
Falvey, R., Foster, N. & Greenaway, D. (2006). Intellectual Property Rights and Economic
Growth. Review of Development Economics, 10 (4), 700-719
Falvey, R.., Foster, N. & Greenaway, D.,(2002). North-South Trade, Knowledge Spillovers
and Growth, No 15, European Economy Group Working Papers, European Economy
Group, Retrieved from http://econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:eeg:euroeg:15.
Ginarte, J. C. & Park W. G. (1997), Determinants of Patent Rights: A Cross-National
Study. Research Policy, 26, 283-301
Gould, D. M. & Gruben, W. C. (1996). The Role of Intellectual Property Rights in
Economic Growth. Journal of Development Economics, 48, 323-350
Gould, D. M. & Ruffin, R. J. (1993). Human Capital, Trade and Economic Growth,
Research Paper no. 9301, Dallas, TX: Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Grossman, G. M. & Helpman, E. (1991). Innovation and Growth in the Global Economy,
Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press
Idris, K. (2003). Intellectual Property - A Power Tool for Economic Growth, Geneva:
World Intellectual Property Organization
INS. (2009). Anuar statistic 2009. Retrieved from http://www.insse.ro/cms/rw/pages/
anuarstatistic2009.ro.do
Jackson, K. A. (coord.) (2011). International Property Rights Index. 2011 Report,
Washington, D.C: Americans for Tax Reform Foundation/Property Rights Alliance
Kanwar, S. & Evenson, R. E. (2003). Does Intellectual Property Protection Spur
Technological Change? Oxford Economic Papers, 55, 235-264
Nordhaus W. D. (1969). Invention, Growth, and Welfare: A Theoretical Treatment of
Technological Change. Cambridge, MA: The M.I.T. Press.
Primo Braga, C. A., Fink, C. & Sepúlveda, C. P. (2000). Intellectual Property Rights and
Economic Development. World Bank Discussion Paper no. 412. Washington, DC:
The World Bank
Rapp, R. T. & Rozek, R. P. (1990). Benefits and Costs of Intellectual Property Protection in
Developing Countries. Journal of World Trade, 24, 75-102
322
Economia. Seria Management
Volume 14, Issue 2, 2011
RO INNO. (2008). Inobarometru 2008. Retrieved from http://www.roinno.ro/index.php?
module=info&id=4&sid=11)
Schneider, P. (2005). International Trade, Economic Growth and Intellectual Property
Rights: A Panel Data Study of Developed and Developing Countries. Journal of
Development Economics, 78, 529-547
Ştrenc, C. A. (2009). Proprietatea Intelectuală şi Inovarea Tehnologică. Inobarometru,
1, 24 -26
Thompson, M. A. & Rushing, F. W. (1999). An Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Patent
Protection on Economic Growth: An Extension. Journal of Economic Development,
24, 67-76
UNU-MERIT. (2010), European Innovation Scoreboard 2009. Retrieved from
http://www.proinno-europe.eu/page/european-innovation-scoreboard-2009
UNU-MERIT. (2011), Innovation Union Scoreboard 2010. The Innovation Union's
Performance Scoreboard for Research and Innovation. Retrieved from
http://www.proinno-europe.eu/inno-metrics/page/innovation-union-scoreboard-2010
WIPO. (2010). World Intellectual Property Indicators, Geneva: World Intellectual Property
Organization,
Retrieved
from
http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/ipstats/
en/statistics/patents/pdf/941_2010.pdf
323